East Aurora man pleads guilty in pharmacy robbery

An East Aurora man could spend the rest of his life in prison for his role in the 2015 robbery of an Oakwood Avenue pharmacy.

Ryan Peltan, 32, pleaded guilty on Thursday to “brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence” according to acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr.

Kennedy said Peltan entered Larwood’s Pharmacy, located at 597 Oakwood Ave., on Oct. 24, 2015, and took, by force, a large amount of controlled substances.

During the robbery, Peltan displayed a firearm and threatened the owner, two customers and a 16-year-old clerk before fleeing the pharmacy, according to Kennedy.

Peltan was arrested two days later in Akron, Ohio, after Kennedy said officers found Peltan and another individual in a car containing 23 firearms and a number of controlled substances, which Kennedy said were taken from Larwood’s Pharmacy.

Kennedy said Peltan will return to court on March 23, 2018, for sentencing. The charge, according to Kennedy, carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison and a maximum sentence of life, along with a $250,000 fine.